Window treatment, namely the art of decorating the interior of a window, has been subject to fashion change over the years. Earlier in the century spring loaded pull up shades and two inch blinds called venetian blinds were in vogue. In the sixties the use of drapes rather than blinds or shades was practiced by the interior decorators of that time. In the early seventies Roman shades, which were rolled up from the bottom toward the top by a drawstring, were considered chic. In the late seventies mini-blinds, i.e. those of one (1) inch depth came into fashion as the preferred window treatment. Today the mini-blind continues to be fashionable along with the pleated shade. Pleated shades are constructed of horizontal pleats of a single piece of fabric. They operate much like the shades of old in that viewing can only take place to the extent that the shades are drawn open, i.e. raised upwardly from the bottom of the window. As is well known, blinds on the other hand offer viewing capability without the necessity of raising them upwardly. The mere traverse of the blind permits the slats to be oriented parallel to one another, thereby letting light in from the window. This is considered an advantage in view of the fact that both children and infirm persons can operate mini-blinds to change the condition from light emitting to light prevention with minimal effort in contrast to the operation of a shade or pleated shade. On the other hand, many people find that they prefer the fashion appearance of the pleated shade as opposed to the overlapping slats of the mini-blind during such times as the shades are in the room darkening position.
It is an object, therefore, of this invention to provide a mini-blind which has the operation of a mini-blind with respect to the light passage capability yet retains the fashionable good looks of a pleated shade.
It is another object of this invention to provide a mini-blind that has a higher thermo-coefficient than the standard mini-blind.
Another object is to provide a mini-blind that more readily lends itself to the use of different colored alternating slats.
A further object is to provide a process for manufacturing a unique mini-blind that in the closed position resembles a pleated shade.
The invention accordingly comprises the product possessing the features, properties and the relation of components which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
While attempts have been made to simulate or approach the instant invention, such structures have been devised previously. Thus reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,049,518 which though entitled Venetian blind, is in fact a pleated shade.